Years passed, Julian was now no more than a middle ranked noble, his fall from grace wasn't anything unexpected, first, he executed one of the pillars of the Farion family staining its name and no longer being regarded as highly, second, being such a young noble of such high class he was targeted and given a ny impossible task which resulted in his punishment, his rank dropping back down to a mere Earl once again.
Even after the royal family shunned him, stripping him of his high title, he was still favored by the people, in the end being able to retain some of his noble power and status, gaining lordship over a rural piece of land, one which he's all too familiar with, the agricultural region of Feris.
He, along with all his companions and his older sister, moved to the Feris region.
After about half a year of living in Feris, Julian understood the area quite well. The region wasn't crowded, the houses were spread out with fields and farms in between each one of them, the towns were tiny, and there weren't many shops; there weren't a lot of travelling merchants either. Compared to the capital, Feris was definitely underdeveloped.
Feris was a big region; it wasn't like Castle Town or the Royal Capital, where you could explore the whole place, nooks and crannies included, in a day or two. It takes over four days just to get from one side of the region to another, without taking the time to explore the area or sleep, and this is also on a fast horse.
Within the region, there are hundreds of villages ranging from small to large, even the common race in these villages was completely different from one another; some were home to elves, some beastmen, some even demons.
As lord Julian went around the region of Feris, trying to know the area better, even though he had been in the region for five years in his life, he never explored; most of the time he spent in the region was just training on a daily basis.
He embarked on this adventure on his own, without the company of Heyrm, Hew, or Fia.
Throughout the years, Julian trusted Heyrm to keep Fia company and keep her out of harm's way. As time went on, Heyrm and Fia grew quite close to each other, both as a knight and his lord and as lovers.
***
Julian explored the region quickly, never settling in one place for over a week. One day, he stumbled upon a forest and somehow ended up in an elven village. It wasn't uncommon by now since he had seen a few of them along the edge of the region. The villages containing mostly other races stood around the edge, while the villages and towns with humans stayed in the center. There seems to be a pattern.
Since his time as a noble, Julian has lost much of his previous demeanour, becoming stiff and orderly, almost to a point where he seems inhuman… The words he spoke of were formal at worst and dignified at best; he was, in fact, the perfect representation of a stern noble.
The village looks way more underdeveloped compared to even the other ones in the Feris region; it wasn't underdeveloped in a way where the villagers weren't living uncomfortably. From what Julian saw, it seems that the village was operating quite smoothly; there weren't any beggars, nor were there any fights going on. The village was peaceful.
Julian always loved the elven race, not in a weird way, but he did also love how the elven women looked; they were the closest race to god, as they say, most ancient yet most perfect.
That night, Julian walked around the village. He was amazed by the architecture of the elves, gazing about the trees where houses were built with long wooden bridges linking one to another. It was quite an incredible sight; it was like a city in the skies.
Julian felt a soft tap on his shoulder, it wouldn't be anyone he came with, as he was travelling alone all this time, Julian didn't feel alarmed by the tap, there wasn't any hostile aggressiveness behind it, it was probably a child playing with him Julian thought to himself as he turned around, his head down anticipating an elven child with a small frame.
Julian's head bumped into something, something soft.
What is this? Julian wondered as he looked up.
What he saw was a beautiful sight— An elven girl, probably sixteen or seventeen, her face flushed red, while she had a cheeky grin on her face.
That girl was...
Julian was surprised to see the dazzling sight. The girl was gorgeous to say the least. Julian knew that elven women tend to have beautiful looks; some might say he probably has a little too much knowledge on that subject, but this girl felt different from the rest. It's like a spark ignited when Julian saw her.
Julian stood there, still bent over, slightly blushing and frozen in place, looking up at the girl.
"Bwahhahahahaha!" The girl laughed loudly, clenching her stomach, as she rolled down onto the floor laughing.
Breathless from all the laughter, the girl continued, "What's that— reaction? Hahahaha—"
The girl had a head of silky golden blond hair tied in a high ponytail above her head, which glistened in the moonlight; her eyes were like jewels, purplish blue.
"Uhhh— Do I know you?" Julian asked.
The girl continued laughing, tears streaming down from her eyes, not sad tears but tears from the uncontrollable laughter.
Julian was confused about what was happening.
Taking a deep breath in, the girl finally spoke, "Now you do. I'm Ava, by the way, Ava Estaline, nice to meet you."
"I'm Julian, Julian Notros-Farion." Julian bows as he introduces himself; it's a habit for nobles to bow to whoever they are introducing themselves to.
"Relax," Ava said, "This isn't the royal palace, you can just be yourself here."